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AbazabaYouMyOnlyFren t1_j9iozkk wrote

Reply to comment by froginbog in $200M in City Purchased COVID Gear Auctioned For Just $500,000 by jumbod666

So what's your point?

It's not possible any of that PPE is expired in such a short timeframe. N-95s easily last for years.

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sulaymanf t1_j9ipvwk wrote

N95s are not sterile. Sterile supplies do expire.

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AbazabaYouMyOnlyFren t1_j9irjkk wrote

I see, and they have a shelf life of 3 days? Thanks for clearing that up.

TIL that n95 masks don't last very long.

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sulaymanf t1_j9irwy7 wrote

Not sure why you’re being snarky when this is an obvious fact to anyone who works in healthcare. Any sterile supplies have an expiration date as that is when the manufacturer can no longer guarantee sterility. Everything from sutures to surgical scissors to sterile gauze has an expiration date attached. They’re usually good for years, but now we are approaching 3 years from the start of Covid and stuff is starting to expire. Non-disposable equipment like clamps and scissors can be autoclaved or otherwise disinfected but all the disposable supplies are expiring and can no longer be safely used due to strict safety regulations.

n95 masks and face shields and smocks are not sterile and as such they don’t have expiration dates. They are meant to be single used and then disposed. But this article is not talking about PPE so I’m not sure why you keep bringing it up.

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AbazabaYouMyOnlyFren t1_j9isn4p wrote

Why? Because I never said they don't have an expiration date and you completely ignored the point

People worked in the same masks and other PPE for weeks because they couldn't get replacements. "Starting to expire" is nonsense. Everything that has an expiration date is starting to expire, but why would you get rid of it before it is?

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sulaymanf t1_j9it6bv wrote

Let me explain it again; the article is about medical supplies expiring. All you are talking about is PPE even though it’s not what the article is talking about. Go back and read it again.

> People worked in the same masks and other PPE for weeks because they couldn’t get replacements.

Yes I was one of them on the front lines. It’s not advisable but it was all we had, there wasn’t good data on how well protection lasted after more than 10 hours of use which is why they were replaced regularly under normal conditions. We made do by adding layers like a surgical mask on top of the n95.

> Everything that has an expiration date is starting to expire, but why would you get rid of it before it is?

Because we don’t like putting stuff about to imminently expire on the shelf next to stuff that won’t; people grab the wrong one too often. That’s partly why CVS won’t keep any prescription meds on their shelves that will expire in less than 2 months, to avoid them getting mixed in and sold with pills that won’t expire for longer.

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froginbog t1_j9k2i62 wrote

There’s a limited time for them to recoup any costs. They clearly had more than they thought they needed and the market is clearly flooded because of the expiration in 5 years etc

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